Hector Sandoval, Norma Fantini, Scott Hendricks, Tania Kross, and Rosalind Plowright star in this production of the Giordano opera performed by the Vienna Symphony, Bregenz Festival Chorus, and Prague Philharmonic Choir conducted by Ulf Schirmer.

Monika Steiner, Michael Weber, Friedemann Kalppert, Andreas Tuschi, Daniel Aigner, Oliver Sturm, Wolfgang Konnyu, Martin Lukesch, Doris Engl, Peter Koefler, Herbert Kienast, and Christine Burkhardt star.

ENTRE ELLE & LUI (DVD) - LIVE

“Mahler, Live” is a dialogue between two outstanding ballets, the world premiere of “4” by Martin Schläpfer and Hans van Manen‘s icon of dance history “Live”. The new director of the Vienna State Ballet Martin Schläpfer not only presents his first own program at the Vienna State Opera with the premiere “Mahler, Live” but also introduce himself as choreographer with his world premiere “4” to Gustav Mahler‘s 4th Symphony. The result is a great ballet for the entire ensemble, which is preceded by an icon of dance history at the opening of the evening, with Hans van Manen‘s “Live”. Hans van Manen‘s “Live” is the first video ballet in dance history and a masterful puzzle game with the mechanisms of perception. First performed in Amsterdam in 1979, “Live” has so far been danced exclusively by Het Nationale Ballett. With this new production in Vienna, Hans van Manen entrusts his work to another company for the first time. “The ballet evening Mahler, live at the Vienna State Opera is already writing dance history” (Kurier) “A sensational start. The Viennese have undoubtedly drawn a lucky draw.” (Süddeutsche Zeitung).

I puritani is one of Bellini's most creative and influential masterpieces, a bel canto opera stamped with vocal and orchestral writing of intoxicating beauty and dramatic intensity. Set in England in the Civil War shortly before Oliver Cromwell's triumph, it involves romantic and political intrigues that drew from Bellini music of melodic raptness and melancholic depth. It also inspired him to compose some of his most breathtakingly virtuosic passages, notably Elvira's Mad Scene, that call for the utmost in theatrical power. This production includes all the music performed at the work's Paris premiere.

Metier’s top line release for 2015 is this program which may be the first ‘music DVD’ devoted to contemporary percussion works. More than that, it has been produced with stunning graphics and visual enhancements as well as ‘straight’ video of the performances thanks to the work of top Danish movie director Christian Holten Bonke. The program includes the most iconic of modern percussion classics, ‘Psappha’ by Iannis Xenakis, together with his much more recent ‘Rebonds’. Works by Henze, Donatoni and Ferneyhough utilize wide ranges of tuned and unturned instruments, while the pieces by Jodlowski and Globokar use different materials altogether. Even for the non-percussion fan, the film is one to watch again and again. Mathias Reumert is one of Europe’s foremost percussionists, having been awarded the DanishMusic Critics’ Prize for 2015.

This fascinating release of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 stands apart from any other recording of the work. This is the first time that the magnificent piece has been recorded in HD and 5.0 surround sound, offering the most outstanding sound quality available today. Christian Thielemann leads the Wiener Philharmoniker in this moving interpretation. “Thielemann’s reading of the Beethoven symphonies stands heads and shoulders above the countless and mostly undistinguishable versions on offer.” (Die Presse) This performance is accompanied by an hour-long documentary featuring the conductor and Germany’s foremost music critic, Professor Joachim Kaiser. The film provides insights into Beethoven’s thinking, as well as interpretal comparisons from conductors like Karajan, Bernstein, and Jarvi.

On May 21, 2016 at the Bonn Opera House in Germany, the fifth Opera Gala for the German AIDS Foundation took place. At this performance, some of the world’s most illustrious vocalists performed, such as Simone Kermes, Roberto De Biasio, Marina Prudenskaya, and Robin Johannsen. This release features all of the very best highlights of that outstanding evening. Conducted by Stefan Blunier, music from Mozart, Gounod, Beethoven, Verdi, Delibes, Donizetti, Offenbach, and Rossini is included. This production was filmed in high definition and mastered from an HD source, and includes over an hour of music. This is the next best thing to being present at the fantastic concert.

Starring Hartmut H ll, Hartmut H�ll, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.

The music chosen for this tour of Shanghai is played on traditional Chinese instruments. Performing the music are the wind and string ensembles known as "silk and bamboo," from their silk strings and bamboo pipes.

Wolf-Ferrari's comic opera La Vedova Scaltra (The Cunning Widow), is among the works he based on plays by Goldoni. It matches closely the conventions of 18th-century opera buffa in it's witty if skeptical look at the mechanisms governing the interplay of human relations. This production, filmed live at the Teatro La Fenice in February 2007 in celebration of the 300th anniversary of the birth of Goldoni in Venice in 1707, is the first to appear on DVD. Anne-Lise Sollied, Maurizio Muraro, and Emanuele D'Aguanno star with Karl Martin conducting in this 2 DVD set.

This is the accomplished and stylish Russian debut of Tianwa Yang – one of the most unusual and energetic violinists of our time. To an enthusiastic audience within the walls of the beautiful Court Capella in St Petersburg, she performs the much-loved concertos of Tchaikovsky and Brahms with the St Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra under the sensitive direction of Vladimir Lande. The remarkable intensity of her playing is just as apparent in both her encore– Ysaÿe’s Violin Sonata No. 3 – and her separate performance of Bach’s solo Partita No. 2. Tianwa Yang has quickly established herself as a leading international performer and recording artist. She has recorded critically acclaimed interpretations of the complete music for violin andpiano, and for violin and orchestra, by Sarasate. Her recording of Mendelssohn’s two violin concertos (8572662) has won the highest praise.

This tour starts with the ancient walled city of Pingyao, with visits to the Qu and Wang courtyard houses and the Shuanglin Temple. There are views of Mount Wutai, as well as the Hanging Monastery at the foot of Mount Heng.

If the legend of the ‘sermon to the birds’ constitutes a magnificent example of narrative art on the piano, for this way of expressing extra-musical ideas solely with notes the three series of Années de Pèlerinage would seem to be a salient cycle in Liszt’s oeuvre. These ‘years of pilgrimage’ contain a total of 26 character pieces, forming a kind of musical diary for Liszt’s years of travelling. After the very successful release of Volume 1 ("Svizzerland") the young and talented italian pianist Francesco Piemontesi takes care of the second part, "Italy". Again, an impressive movie accompany the pianist on his trip through Italy, on the traces of Franz Liszt. This release shows not only the beauty of the landscape but also interesting statements of Francesco Piemontesi about his actual recording.

Rarely has a production of Verdi's "Otello" taken place in such a prestigious location, the courtyard of the Palazzo Ducale in Venice. Directed by Francesco Micheli, this special outdoor "event production" of the Gran Teatro La Fenice supports the claim that "Venice is asserting itself more than ever on a global scale as one of the great capitals of music" (GB Opera).

Giuseppe Verdi
OTELLO

Otello - Gregory Kunde
Desdemona - Carmela Remigio
Jago - Lucio Gallo
Emilia - Elisabetta Martorana
Cassio - Francesco Marsiglia
Roderigo - Antonello Ceron
Lodovico - Mattia Denti
Montano - Matteo Ferrara
Un Araldo - Antonio Casagrande

Teatro la Fenice Chorus and Orchestra
(chorus master: Claudio Marino Moretti)
Myung-Whun Chung, conductor

Francesco Micheli, stage director
Edoardo Sanchi, set designer
Silvia Aymonino, costume designer
Fabio Barettin, lighting designer
Recorded from the Palazzo Ducale di Venezia, 2013

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: Italian, German, English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese
Booklet notes: English, German, French
Running time: 149 mins
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)